Ben Harper vs. KOL

LukinFan

Wow! I never thought that this would cause so much conflict between people on here. They're both great artists- enough said.

InHiding19

Is this some kind of sick joke KOL would totally blow Ben Harper away.

waves roll in

I was just going by their Wikipedia page "Brothers Nathan, Caleb and Lucas originally sang country music and dance electro and later moved to playing rock and roll. They worked for a brief period of time with label and management group Pistol Creek Productions. They spent their time with this label mainly singing at rodeos. They also were members of the West Tennessee Mass Choir for a short time. [2]

Nathan, the eldest of the brothers, graduated from Christian Life Academy (a private school that is now defunct) in Henderson, TN. Caleb dropped out mid-senior year to pursue country music.

Upon signing with RCA, they were introduced to Nashville-based song-writer/producer Angelo Petraglia, who had previously worked with artists such as Brooks & Dunn, Trisha Yearwood and Martina McBride. Petraglia would prove very important to the band, moving them in a more rock-oriented direction and co-writing many of their songs. "I turned those guys on to the Rolling Stones and a lot of the older raw rock-and-roll stuff," he said.[3] Caleb, whose first name is Anthony, is known as "Tony" to the rest of the band and his closest friends."

Also as far as hits they have "On Call" and the video for that they are all dressed exactly the same with exactly the same hair and look emo. The just definitely seem like one of the "the" bands without a "the" in front of their name. I do like that song "Fans" off of their new album though.

DriftingByTheStorm

Well, as a huge pixies fan, im not sure i can support the KOL\Pixies comparison, but i do much like KOL.

I have never been much of a Ben fan, his stuff is just too slow and mellow for me.

KOL is rock and roll, and i don't think it really compares with BHIC, they are just different.

I personaly really like KOL.
I think too many of their lyrics end up being about sex (lol), but the music has a great vibe.
Their last album is fucking amazing. "Fans" is a great song to check out -- probably one of their most "pearl jammy".

rhinomagic

I saw both while @ Voodoo Music Festival. Ben's performance was mediocre, yet it was every bit as good as the Kings of Leon set that we saw the night before.

If I was forced to choose, I'd take Ben Harper live over Kings of Leon live every day of the week and twice on Sunday.

.

answers are fatal

I was in the same situation as you, i was asked to go see KOL and Ben Harper. But since i am 16 and jobless i could only afford to go to one, so i picked KOL. they put on a great show.

soulsinging

waves roll in wrote:

I was just going by their Wikipedia page "Brothers Nathan, Caleb and Lucas originally sang country music and dance electro and later moved to playing rock and roll. They worked for a brief period of time with label and management group Pistol Creek Productions. They spent their time with this label mainly singing at rodeos. They also were members of the West Tennessee Mass Choir for a short time. [2]

Nathan, the eldest of the brothers, graduated from Christian Life Academy (a private school that is now defunct) in Henderson, TN. Caleb dropped out mid-senior year to pursue country music.

Upon signing with RCA, they were introduced to Nashville-based song-writer/producer Angelo Petraglia, who had previously worked with artists such as Brooks & Dunn, Trisha Yearwood and Martina McBride. Petraglia would prove very important to the band, moving them in a more rock-oriented direction and co-writing many of their songs. "I turned those guys on to the Rolling Stones and a lot of the older raw rock-and-roll stuff," he said.[3] Caleb, whose first name is Anthony, is known as "Tony" to the rest of the band and his closest friends."

Also as far as hits they have "On Call" and the video for that they are all dressed exactly the same with exactly the same hair and look emo. The just definitely seem like one of the "the" bands without a "the" in front of their name. I do like that song "Fans" off of their new album though.

unfortunately for the haters, 'tony' did not get any writing credits for either of their last 2 albums... so on call was an original for them. as to him turning them onto the rolling stones... god forbid they met a producer who showed them the light... namely that country music sucks ass and they ought to be playing real rock music.

dharma69

soulsinging wrote:

unfortunately for the haters, 'tony' did not get any writing credits for either of their last 2 albums... so on call was an original for them. as to him turning them onto the rolling stones... god forbid they met a producer who showed them the light... namely that country music sucks ass and they ought to be playing real rock music.

Record Producer (aka Music Producer):

In the music industry, a record producer (or music producer) has many roles, among them controlling the recording sessions, coaching and guiding the musicians, organizing and scheduling production budget and resources, and supervising the recording, mixing and mastering processes.

Heaven forbid a producer actually do his/her job. Heaven forbid musicians don't do it all on their own. Because you and I know that Pearl Jam has and always will be a self-contained, maintained band. It's not like they'd ever hook up with a Jimmy Jam or Timbaland or Brendan O'Brien.

MarkerInTheSand

i saw both at lollapalooza, and then both again in september (ben harper sept 14 in pittsburgh, kol sept 21 in philly). Kings of Leon rocked hard, but I think the Ben show was better overall. When Ben sang without the microphone and his voice still filled the whole theatre, I got chills.

I'd say Ben, but I don't think you'll be disappointed either way.

LukinFan

MarkerInTheSand wrote:

i saw both at lollapalooza, and then both again in september (ben harper sept 14 in pittsburgh, kol sept 21 in philly). Kings of Leon rocked hard, but I think the Ben show was better overall. When Ben sang without the microphone and his voice still filled the whole theatre, I got chills.

I'd say Ben, but I don't think you'll be disappointed either way.

I agree

soulsinging

dg1979us wrote:

Thats fine, I think they are a bit fake, but to each their own. I wasnt trying to trash KOL, just givng my reasons why I think Harper is better. And one I do like him better, and two the fact that his success is based on him and not producers and songwriters, makes me respect him a bit more.

http://forums.pearljam.com/showthread.php?t=248674

you going to discount led zep's accomplishments too now that it's common knowledge zep couldn't write their own original material either?

waves roll in

soulsinging wrote:

http://forums.pearljam.com/showthread.php?t=248674

you going to discount led zep's accomplishments too now that it's common knowledge zep couldn't write their own original material either?

Yeah Zep used a bit of other's blues riffs but they are a very different band then KOL. I like them more than Ben and KOL. They did write originals as well. Also they switch up their songs live a lot, Kings of Leon everything seemed identical to the studio which is fine I have no problem with that. Also they weren't told by their producer what style to use and how to dress to fit the part and all that.

LukinFan

soulsinging wrote:

http://forums.pearljam.com/showthread.php?t=248674

you going to discount led zep's accomplishments too now that it's common knowledge zep couldn't write their own original material either?

haha- well said!

soulsinging

waves roll in wrote:

Yeah Zep used a bit of other's blues riffs but they are a very different band then KOL. I like them more than Ben and KOL. They did write originals as well. Also they switch up their songs live a lot, Kings of Leon everything seemed identical to the studio which is fine I have no problem with that. Also they weren't told by their producer what style to use and how to dress to fit the part and all that.

did you read the thread? zep didnt just steal blues riffs. they stole whole songs, lyrics, progressions. they've been battling lawsuits for theft their whole career.

you still have shown no proof that kol had a producer who told them how to dress aside from an anonymous blog who claims to know a guy who's in a band and says the rock industry is fucked becos his band sucks and didnt get the label support kol did. the only fact you have is kol gave co-writing credits to their producer for their first album. having someone's help to coach their song-writing sure beats plagiarism... let's see you convince a professor that copying and pasting someone else's paper is more original than having someone edit your work. and led zep did this for several albums. yet you're going to tell me they are true originals and innovators and kings of leon are a corporate invention?

LukinFan

answers are fatal wrote:

I was in the same situation as you, i was asked to go see KOL and Ben Harper. But since i am 16 and jobless i could only afford to go to one, so i picked KOL. they put on a great show.

Wow- nice choice of music at 16. When I was 16, I listened to Gangsta Rap!